Passion and Pain
by Ro-RoWeasley
Summary: Rose Weasley is now in her fifth year at Hogwarts. She must face tiresome prefect duties, mountains of homework, Quidditch and OWLs. But she must also put up with multiple sibling rivalry, a ruthless gang of Slytherins and a deteriorating friendship! ON HIATUS.
1. Reflections

**Passion and Pain  
>Chapter One: Reflections<br>**

In the Gryffindor dormitory, with her bushy auburn hair cascading over the pillows, a thin, pale, freckled girl could not sleep. Instead, she lay awake late into the night with her head swimming. They were all barely back at Hogwarts and she already wanted to curse something!

For Rose Weasley, every September 1st was the same; the only day she disliked her family name.  
>There was just no way to escape it.<p>

On platform nine and three-quarters she would put up with first years and other younger students pointing at her, their accompanying parents eyeing her and her family like they were some animals in a show, curiosity and awe in their eyes. Then on the train those same students would find the compartment she and her family occupied and nag them all for pictures, autographs or even interviews.

Today had been the worst yet. Rather than the first years wandering around to find her, Rose and her cousin Albus, after discovering badges in their letters, had prefect duties to perform which meant they all but handed themselves over to their fans. Whenever they walked past a first-year compartment, there seemed to always be an issue for them to resolve – which Rose was certain they were causing on purpose to get their attention.

It was only when Albus threatened to set the giant squid on them if they did not stop messing around - given he could not dock points before they were at Hogwarts as their Houses were yet unknown – they finally calmed into hurried whispers about what the giant squid would do to them.

As well as the first years causing trouble, the new prefects had numerous encounters with some Slytherin fourth years who thought it amusing to set off some Decoy Detonators and Wildfire Whiz-bang Fireworks in the corridor down the rear of the train. This caused Rose to curse her uncle's joke shop with some rather foul language and make a mental note to bring up banned items with the Head boy and girl.

By the time they reached Hogsmeade Station, Rose was thoroughly exhausted and so furious that Albus had to restrain her from randomly lashing out at the nearest student.

o o o

Throughout her past four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rose Weasley had always been compared to her parents, Ron and Hermione, and it drove her mad. It seemed that every single teacher – even Headmistress McGonagall – just could not resist recalling how much they adored them. How brilliant a witch her mother was, or how brave her father was.

Rose knew she should feel proud, or at the very least pleased, but no. Whenever a teacher started on the topic the rest of the class would listen in awe, much to Rose's distress, who ended up becoming quite bored – although she would never admit _that_ to her parents for all the gold in Gringotts!

Rose herself was as bright a witch as her mother, although this did not always show in her exam grades. This was due to a minor lazy streak she had inherited from her father.

She was also very stubborn and refused to follow in her parents' footsteps and work at the Ministry of Magic, despite everybody's expectations. The pressure was just too much for her. Instead she aspired to become a professional Quidditch player like her auntie Ginny, which her father actually encouraged. The thought of yet another Weasley playing Quidditch always filled him with pride, not just because it was now the turn of his 'little Rosie'.

_Does everyone really expect me to live up to my parents' reputation?_ She thought to herself. _Well, I'm sorry to disappoint them, but there isn't a dark wizard around for me to defeat at the present time!  
><em>

Rose slapped a hand to her forehead and squeal in frustration. Her lack of tact was another minor weakness gained from her father. How could she be so thoughtless? After all, she was not the only family member under this stress and pressure…

But as well as her parents and teachers pushing her to the limit, a more frequent annoyance followed her around the castle daily: her friends. They did not particularly take to Rose's lack-of-interest attitude lightly.  
>A distant memory flashed across her mind.<p>

_"Come on Rose, you're related to Harry Potter for Merlin's sake, The Boy Who Lived!" Gabrielle Zabini, Rose's closest friend, had exclaimed during their first year. "And just look at who your parents are!"_

_"Exactly," Rose replied simply._

They had been in Charms with the Hufflepuffs practicing levitation.  
>It was only their third week at Hogwarts and Rose had been constantly bombarded with such questions.<p>

_"Aren't you completely crazed that he's famous? That consequently you are part of the most famous wizard family for several centuries?" Isabella Brooks, a rather over-ecstatic Hufflepuff insisted._

_"Izzy, I've known Harry Potter all my life. It does not matter that he is famous, or that my parents are his famous best friends, or the fact that I am one of the 'famous five' or whatever. They are my family, and I see them as perfectly ordinary wizards. Now can you all please not discuss this with me?" Rose pleaded._

After that, fame had become a taboo subject of conversation whenever Rose was in the vicinity.

Rose shared her dormitory with four other girls. Her favourite was Gabrielle Zabini, who was tall, half-blood, blue-eyed with deep brown hair. She was related to Rose's rival – the snide and provocative pure-blood snake, Angela Zabini, who loved a good fight.

Fortunately, during past years the Gryffindors had only few classes with the Slytherins, which meant Angela was limited to opportunities for confrontations as when Rose wasn't in the common room or the library doing homework, she would have Quidditch practice. But Angela would always find a way and it nearly always meant detention for Rose.

However, Rose had noticed she had not been made a Slytherin prefect, which gave her a significant advantage for the next encounter. All the same, Rose would have to be a lot more careful this year.

As well as Gabrielle, there was also Madison Cooper the hazel-eyed dirty-blonde Muggle-born. Madison thought of herself as 'madly in love with Quidditch', although Rose did not know how that was possible. As much as she 'lived and breathed it' by memorising the rules and going to a couple of professional games with the Weasley's, Maddie would never touch a broom let alone play such a "dirty and violent game" herself.

Hannah Green was ironically green-eyed with dark hair and freckles, also Muggle-born. Every inch of the wall beside her four-poster was filled with muggle non-moving family photos and posters, something which would have fascinated Rose's Grandad Arthur, who was obsessed with anything muggle.

And finally: Jasmine Thomas. She was mousy haired with brown eyes and a fellow half-blood. Whenever she wasn't rating boys she was in the mass of greenhouses tending to all the different array of plants for extra-credit – Herbology was her favourite subject.

Although her friends knew perfectly well (for over three years!) that she did not wish to talk about her fame, Rose suspected they still talked about her behind her back. But Rose didn't ever bother to confront them because she did not mind, as long as she did not get to hear it herself.

Rose reflected fondly on all the good times she had spent with these girls: the walks across the grounds and by the lake in bright sunshine, the girly gossip in the common room, and the snowball fights in the winter. Every summer they had spent at least a week at one of their houses, alternating every year. They had come to Rose's house after their second year, and had been given quite a shock by all the family visitors they had received!

She regretted that they were not as close now as they had been in first and second year. This was due to the 'five-to-friend ratio' as the girls liked to call it. By this, they were referring to the ratio of time Rose spent with the Potters to the time she spent with them. Not surprisingly, the ratio was much in favour of the Potters by a good 5:2 in terms of days of the week.

This got Rose uptight every time it was mentioned and there were plenty of arguments. Their feeble attempts at getting Rose back with them had led to an even worse estrangement, despite her spending their annual week together in the summer. Thankfully the subject of Rose's family had not come up, but she had felt something awkward in the air as if she would rather not be there.

o o o

The 'famous five' was the petty nickname given to the children of Harry and Ginny Potter, and Ron and Hermione Weasley; simply because between them there were five.

Harry and Ginny had three children – two sons: sixth year James and fifth year Albus - the same year as Rose - and a daughter, Lily, who was in third year.  
>Ron and Hermione Weasley had two children: Rose and her younger brother Hugo, who was the same age as Lily. Carrying on the Potter and Weasley traditions, all five were in Gryffindor House.<p>

The subject of the Potters was what had led her to slap her forehead in frustration.

Rose knew that they were under twice as much pressure as she was, owing to the fact that their father was **Harry Potter 'The Boy Who Lived'** and possibly the most well-known wizard after Albus Dumbledore.

Although there was no big shock for the Weasleys or Potters, there was an unexpected turn of events which occurred prior to Albus and Rose's sorting. Scorpius Malfoy had snapped his family's reputation into irreplaceable shards of humiliation when the Sorting Hat was placed upon his head and had almost immediately declared: "RAVENCLAW!"

For a split second after, you could have heard a pin drop in the huge Hall, until the Ravenclaws stood and cheered with accompanying confused applause from the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and death-glares from the Slytherins.  
>Despite the name 'Malfoy' initially putting them off, Rose and Albus had made a solid friend of Scorpius through shared classes with the Ravenclaws and did not regret it in the slightest. Although slightly shy and moody at first due to the lack of acceptance he had received, he had eventually come round and would happily team up with the two cousins without question.<p>

Rose and Albus were as tight as twins and had been more-or-less since they were born. With their parents being best friends and Rose's father being Ginny's brother and Albus' uncle, calling the Potters her cousins seemed the understatement of the century! Every holiday since she could remember, Christmases, summers and birthdays, had been largely spent with her younger brother and three favourite cousins both in and outside of Hogwarts.

Albus was the splitting image of his father with his untidy jet-black hair and bright green eyes. He had also developed a passion for Quidditch but, much to the delight of Hermione, he was also passionate about his studies. This meant there was fierce yet friendly competition between him and Rose for the class top-spot. So far Rose owned Charms, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy, while Albus owned Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts (the pair of them had chosen the same lessons in third year). They had both agreed History of Magic was not worth fighting for as it was a class struggle for consciousness not individual cleverness.

This year would bring the Battle of OWLs and that was bound to get aggressive!

Albus' older brother James was quite the trouble-maker, making sure he lived up to his name sakes, which had earned him numerous amounts of detentions and plenty of scolds from Rose. He had his mother's brown eyes and a slight Weasley-red tinge to his dark brown hair.  
>Rose liked James; that was, only when he wasn't acting a complete prat with his friends or his partner in crime, their seventh year cousin Roxanne, daughter of George and Angelina Weasley. He was not pig-headed (which Rose considered an achievement considering his position), but was the Seeker and Captain – as of this year – for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, and had surprised everyone by suddenly growing out of taunting Albus in his third year. Only the Potters and Weasleys knew the explanation for that and this was a mutual taboo choice of both Albus and James.<p>

Having said that, being the first of the Potter children to attend Hogwarts, Rose always thought James had had it hardest yet had dealt with it the best.

Hugo Weasley, Rose's brown-haired younger brother, was the youngest of the quintet. He was quiet – although Rose had noticed he was much louder with his friends – but a hard worker and she loved him to bits. He wasn't as bright as Rose (auntie Ginny always said Rose took after Hermione and Hugo took after Ron brain-wise) but he had a keen determination to take a similar career path to his mother - campaigning for magical creature rights. Their mother worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and had helped to change laws regarding the treatment of house-elves.

Where Quidditch was concerned, Hugo preferred to watch his sister and cousins play rather than participate himself, a choice which earned him some playful taunts from both James and his father.

As for the youngest Potter, Lily, she was selectively shy but looked up enormously to her older brothers. She would talk to Rose about any troubles or worries she had and shared a strong bond with fellow third year and Rose's brother, Hugo. She loved to join in with family discussions in the common room and contributed confidently and enthusiastically. However when it came to her friends, Lily's shyness would kick in and she would just sit quietly and not talk. Rose inferred in Lily's first year that she was more of a family girl, considering her closest relatives her friends rather than the girls she shared a dorm with.

As Lily and Hugo were now third years, the five of them could all go to Hogsmeade together. The pair of them had been hyper ever since they received their permission forms with their book lists.  
>They had been staying at Grimmauld Place that week for Uncle Harry's birthday when the letters had arrived.<p>

Usually, the teens would not pay much attention to them as they were never anything special. However this time all five envelopes were thicker than usual which immediately drew attention. Hugo's and Lily's contained their Hogsmeade permission forms, Albus' and Rose's contained their prefect badges and James' contained the Quidditch Captain badge. The Potter's house-elf Kreacher, with help from Ginny, had made an extra special celebratory dinner which consisted of Molly Weasley's special steak and ale pie with treacle tart for dessert.

This was followed by several rounds of wizard's chess between Albus and Hugo while the girls had tried to put their respective brother off so the other would win. James sat with the adults discussing his O.W.L results which were due to arrive the following day.  
>Rose had roomed with Lily, and Hugo with Albus and James – the two boys usually had separate rooms but when they had guests Albus' bedroom was magically extended.<p>

Rose was just reliving one of the many family Quidditch matches at The Burrow, in which the balls consisted of a football, two cricket balls and a ping-pong ball, when she was abruptly brought back to the present as a loud, rather unfeminine snore echoed around the room and realised her thoughts had gone off on a rather steep tangent. However she wasn't complaining as her bad mood had vanished.

_Thanks a bunch Maddie._ She thought sarcastically, making a mental note to scold her the next morning.

Smiling, Rose felt a warm feeling spread through her as she turned in her scarlet four-poster. She had never really thought about her family in as much depth before and as she settled into a calm, dreamless sleep, Rose realised just how much she appreciated them.

o o o

END

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong>I'm sorry if it seems Rose is complaining rather a lot in this chapter but in her defence she has had a rough day and is blaming everyone around her because she can. However, her thoughts stray to fond memories with her family and all is forgiven - the next chapter should show her in better light.  
>This is my first crack at a fan fiction and I'm thoroughly enjoying it although it is taking me a while! Please read and review - I welcome advice on improving!<p> 


	2. Scarlet With Jealousy

**Passion and Pain  
>Chapter Two: Scarlet with Jealousy<strong>

* * *

><p>During breakfast the next morning Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor, handed out their new timetables. After a rather stressful start to the year the fact that it was Thursday, meaning she had two full days of lessons to plough through before she could fully adjust to being back at Hogwarts, did not please Rose in the slightest.<p>

"Hey how about that, we have Hagrid first thing followed by double Herbology, then Transfiguration and Defence this afternoon! As far as first-day-backs go that's a good day!" Albus was saying as he examined his timetable, nudging Rose who with her elbows resting on the table, her chin on her hands and a glum look on her face, was not paying attention.

When Rose didn't respond, Hugo's annoyingly cheery voice came from across the table. "Did someone get out the wrong side of the bed this morning?" he mused, waving his hand in her face.

"More like I got _in _on the wrong side last night." she replied grumpily, eyes snapping to his and stifling a yawn. "Didn't get much sleep at all and to be honest, after yesterday, I could happily stay in my dormitory and never show my face again!"

Lily, who was sat next to Hugo, groaned while the latter rolled his eyes. Albus looked at her, confused, "You're not _still_ mad about what happened on the train?"  
>Rose had spent the previous evening rambling angrily about the train journey in the common room, much to their annoyance.<p>

"My chance to set a good first impression as a prefect when up in Fiendfyre, Al!"

"Coming from the girl who pulls a face at popularity and attention _that _was pretty self-centred!"

"Humiliation is an entirely different matter and you now it!"

"Rosie, stop overreacting! You still have who knows how many days left to improve." Rose glared at him and Albus chuckled, deciding to change the subject. "Hey, fancy trying out for the Quidditch team this year, Lil? As James is now Captain, you're more than guaranteed a place!" he said with a sly smile on his face.

"You know full well that I have no better an advantage than any other Gryffindor!" Lily shot back. "James knows he can't be biased and we all still need to try out. If there are other people that are obviously better, he has to be fair and replace us; simple as that."

"Lily you've never made the team yet, don't talk rubbish!"

"Just because you're now a prefect doesn't mean you can talk to me like that!" she replied hotly, her cheeks reddening. "Surely it should be _you_ telling _me_ that we all need to try out and not to expect favouritism, but NO! You're _so_ pig-headed about Quidditch, and just because your little sister here is not as good, you think you can tease me like I'm a child – I'm only two years younger than you!"

"Two years maybe, but you really _do_ act like a child sometimes!"

"Excuse me, ME a child? If you were such a grown up you wouldn't be getting detentions every week with your little playmates – you're worse than James used to be!"

"What has getting detentions got to do with Quidditch? And it's only the first day!"

"I'm surprised at how you've managed to ever stay on the team!"

The two of them were so busy exchanging pleasantries they didn't even notice James when he appeared at the table. He took a seat on the near side of Rose and grabbed a slice of toast.

"Blimey what's it now Weasley?"

"A debate of your captaining skills," Rose replied glumly and when James pulled a face and sighed she continued. "You know how Albus is with Lily about Quidditch normally, but _now_? Thanks to your appointment it looks like Lily _will_ be trying out this year. Though in her defence, it was Al who started it."

"I didn't ask to be made Captain you know." He muttered dully. "I knew perfectly well what could happen if I was but Longbottom obviously thinks I can handle things."

"Speaking of _Professor _Longbottom, here he is with your timetable, Potter." The teacher said merrily as he handed a piece of parchment to James.

"Thanks, sorry Professor." James replied.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Rose were discussing. I know I have put you in a difficult position James, but I believe you are more than capable of doing what is right." And with that, he moved further down the Gryffindor table handing out more pieces of parchment.

Rose and James fell into silence but not long before a high-pitch shriek made them both jump.

"I HATE YOU ALBUS POTTER!"

Lily, now as scarlet as the rubies in the House point hourglass, spared a last glare at her brother then sprinted from the Hall.

"Err… I'd better go after her." Hugo said slowly as though debating whether to or not before leaping up from his seat and following suit.

"See you later!" Rose called after him then turned to Albus who was staring at where Lily had been sitting mere seconds ago. "What did you say to her?"

"What makes you think _I _did anything?" he replied angrily.

"Well in case you didn't notice, it was Lily who just ran out in a huff! And it was you who started it! You know how sensitive she is about Quidditch Al, why do you always feel the need to constantly embarrass her?" James countered.

Albus didn't have an answer for this, which Rose felt was quite an achievement on his part. Now it was her turn to change the subject. "Come on, we'd better get down to Hagrid's. I just hope we are not with the Slytherins, that's the last thing I need right now."

o o o

It turned out the Gryffindors had Care of Magical Creatures with the Hufflepuffs which cheered Rose up enormously. Albus however, stayed in his ignorant mood which nearly landed him in the hospital wing when the Bowtruckle he and Rose were supposed to be drawing attacked his face after he was careless enough to trip it with his quill.

This sent Rose into hysterics, which only subsided when Hagrid reminded them sternly of their prefect positions and even threatened to take points from Gryffindor. Albus vowed he would not forgive her for that and stubbornly refused to talk to her for the rest of the day.

After a somewhat relaxed Herbology lesson, when Lily didn't show at lunch this made Albus surprisingly on edge once more and he sat merely prodding his plate of bangers and mash. Rose decided to refrain from discussing their argument at breakfast until Hugo sat down next to her a few minutes later.

"How's your morning been?" he asked, although Rose could tell he was far from interested.

"Better than yours I'd imagine?"

"You'd think I was a Slytherin trying to chat her up, I'm being given the silent treatment!" he shot Albus an angry look, and then added "Although she hasn't hexed me yet."

"What's got her occupied now? You two are pretty much joined at the hip as much as me and Al."

James, who had been listening from across the table, perked up at this. "Hey! What about me?"

"Oh you're just the mature adult who's too grown up to be involved with any of our issues. And you're the odd one out really." she shot back with a winning smile. James poked his tongue out at her.

"She's down at the Quidditch pitch; she skipped double Potions," he added glumly. Rose raised her eyebrows at him indicating shock and he shrugged. "This means she has a detention to serve but I wasn't going to tell her that yet. I've just been down to persuade her to get some food but she stubbornly refused, saying she needed to clear her head. I doubt you could clear her head anymore if you obliviated her!"

"Wow she's taking this pretty hard eh?"

This reply came from Albus.

"Oh, hello!" Rose retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sorry, I didn't realise you were sat with us. Does this mean you _are_ talking to me then?"

"Stop it Rose, this is serious! I didn't mean to be _that_ hard on her."

"No of course you didn't, which is why you refused to keep your mouth shut and why she skipped a double lesson on her first day back!"

"Again with the sarcasm! What do you want me to do?"

"Well apologise would be a good place to start." Hugo replied shortly.

"I'll try and talk to her tonight." Rose interjected, glancing sidewards at Albus. "Although I reckon I'm also on her silent treatment list by association with the enemy, she has to give in at some point."

Albus reluctantly agreed and a quarter of an hour later the three went their separate ways to afternoon classes – Hugo slumped to Herbology without Lily while Albus and Rose headed to Transfiguration. When they arrived, Professor Finch-Fletchly made a point of saying that the talk in the staff room had been about Lily deliberately truanting Potions.

After the lesson while Albus waited outside, Rose hung back to briefly explain the situation and promised that it was only a one-time occasion.

o o o

As soon as the bell sounded at the end of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Rose was out of the room like a Firebolt. She wanted to get back to the common room and wait for Lily as it was the only place she could think of catching her, given she would need to come back at some point to sleep.

The first person she laid eyes on as she climbed through the portrait hole, seated with a few of his fiends by the fire, was James. As soon as he saw her he leapt up.

"Ahh! I was hoping you'd get here before Little Miss Stubborn."

"Fat lot of good you've been all day! Free periods today I see? You could have gone looking for her!" Rose mumbled.

"Oi, who was the one that told me to butt out?" he replied with a cheeky smile. "Anyway, I've decided that you kids have messed around long enough on your own and it's time for a responsible adult here to take care of things. Besides, if Lily shrugged Hugo off, she certainly would not take me seriously!"

"Hilarious." she said with no hint of enthusiasm whatsoever.

He led her over to the sofa in front of the fire and she sat and drew her knees up to her face; he sat down at the other end. She hadn't noticed up until this point that his friends had moved towards the back of the common room, which she was grateful for.

"Come on, don't be like that! The whole school heard what happened this morning. To be honest I don't blame Lily for ditching, Albus was a right git to her."

By this time, students had begun drifting back in dribs and drabs from their afternoon classes, heading for the dormitories to deposit their bags. Rose kept an eye out for a flash of flaming red hair (Lily was the only one of the five to have fully inherited the Weasley trademark colour) as she replied sadly.

"I just hope it doesn't get worse. What a great start to the year."

Just then Albus entered the common room, trailing behind his friends who were in deep conversation. He caught sight of her, gave a half-smile and approached the sofa.

"Hi." he moped.

"She's not back yet but I'll let you know how it goes."

He nodded. "You won't have to wait long. She's not far behind me. Looks like her and Hugo have made up." He then turned without so much as a wave in James' direction and headed for the dormitory stairs.

"Good evening to you too." James muttered.

Albus had been right about Lily making up with Hugo as when they climbed through the portrait hole seconds later, the pair of them were chatting animatedly and laughing.

James waved them over, grinning, directing his greeting briefly at Lily. "Hi there stranger! How's your day been Hugo?"

"Charming!" she retorted with a guilty smile, seating herself between him and Rose while Hugo sank into the nearest armchair.

"So, enjoyed an early morning flight today did we?" Rose asked, lightly punching Lily in the shoulder. "You know you'll have to answer to Macmillan now don't you? Getting detention on the first day… barely before lessons have begun… I'd bet you've just set a new family record!"

"Hmm I don't know…" James said thoughtfully. "I think Fred's still ahead, but if you keep this up you'll certainly give him a run for his money! And seriously Rose, what torturing task is Macmillan gonna have her do? Reorder the ingredients jars in his store cupboard? It's Mum she'll have to answer to."

Lily grimaced. Ginny had been known to administer her signature Bat-Bogey Hex upon her own children and husband in exceptional circumstances. The most recent being about four years ago when Uncle Harry had neglected watching Lily, leaving her to freely wander around Diagon Alley alone…

"Nahh Auntie Gin's not _that_ mean. Lily's her favourite!" Hugo commented, putting extra emphasis on the last word and earning himself a cushion in the face from James.

They all collapsed into fits of laughter at this. Before Lily grew serious and asked "Rose, can I talk to you please. Upstairs?"

"Yeah of course." she replied, smiling, then turned to James. "See if you can sort Al out will you, please? You too." she directed at Hugo.

Now it was James' turn to grimace. "Err… right. I'm not sure we'll get anything out of him but I guess we've got to try. I suppose he'll have to give in at some point!" he added with a wink.

Rose poked her tongue out at him as she and Lily joined the throng heading up the dormitory staircases.

Rose knew that Lily felt intimidated around her friends, merely because she did not know them very well and had never made any effort to. So if Lily felt the common room was too crowded, they would head up to her dormitory.

Lily's dormitory was the fourth up the girls' spiral staircase. As they approached, the brass plaque on the door which read 'Third-Years' reflected the floating candlelight.  
>The two cousins were met with bright, warm smiles, cheery waves and 'HI's by Lily's dorm mates and the mousy-brown, spectacled girl nearest the door walked over and gave Lily a hug, then held her at arm's length to examine her.<p>

"Are you okay Lil? We've hardly seen or spoken to you all day! We saw what went on at breakfast and then you didn't turn up to class. Hey there Rose!" she said with a grin. Lily nodded but was evidently pleased that she was showing concern.

"Hey Mabel. Good holiday in Australia?" Rose replied. Mabel was Lily's other close friend after Hugo and had spent countless times at both Weasley and Potter houses. Rose liked Mabel a lot; she was chatty and could be a good laugh, and understood sibling rivalry well as she had two older brothers of her own.

"Yes thanks, it was brilliant!" she chortled. "Much different from Wales, it's so varied with deserts and rainforests. We saw lots of animals and even went scuba-diving in the Great Barrier Reef!" Then she put her arm around Lily and led her over to the middle bed. "Right, what on earth happened this morning?"  
>Rose sat down opposite feeling a little uncomfortable as Mabel had never been this concerned with any of Lily's worries before.<p>

"We'll get started with our Charms essay." Esther and Laura, the blonde-haired identical twins called, rummaging in their trunks for parchment and quills.

"I'm off for a shower!" Lexie yelled from the bathroom.

"Al's been giving me the silent treatment all day so I haven't heard anything from him but as I recall he was certainly more than his usual self this morning." Rose started.

"Hmm, you could say that again. Did you hear him? 'Fancy trying out for the Quidditch team this year? James is now Captain, you're more than guaranteed a place!'" she mimicked in a voice not even close to Albus' but Rose didn't say anything. "He's an arrogant little prat and I hate him!"

"Lil you don't hate him. He's your brother. I know you two don't get on as well as you should and most of it is his fault, and admittedly it's never been _this_ bad before… but you've got to find some way of not rising to his bait."

"Meaning Lily has to be miserable for the rest of her life but Albus can continue harassing her?" Mabel asked.

"No, of course not! Meaning that if she shows no reaction to his teasing, eventually he'll get bored and stop."

"Eventually? So what's Lily supposed to do until then?" Mabel raised an eyebrow.

Lily looked like she was deep in thought. But Mabel's question snapped her back to the present. "I'll show him." She said with a determined look on her face. "I'll practice with you – practice hard - and then I'll try out for the team again. But this time, I'll make it and I'll show him just how good I can be. That'll shut him up."

"Lily, I-"

"What? You don't think I can do it?"

"Of course I think you can do it. It's just, it's only the first day – your mind may change in the next few days. Just because today was the worst, it doesn't mean it will always be like this. Albus can change." She added, deciding that it was the only fair option to settle their arguments. To talk sense into Albus.

"That's complete nonsense Rose, it won't work!" Then she stood up and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" Rose asked in a pleading voice.

"To find Hugo."  
>Without looking back, Lily slammed the dormitory door shut behind her.<p>

"Oh Merlin." was all Rose could say.


End file.
